The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1887-12-23
THE BLAINE INTERVIEW.
Full Text Of His Views on the
H Message.
WILL MAKEAs SQUARE ISSUE
he Would Repeal the Tax On To-
bacco Immediately.

uuCCO lulu6ultItlys
The Tax on whisky Should Go to Fort
ify Our Characterization to Amer
Icon Industries should he Maintained"
SsNothing So Mischievous to Business MS
y Uncertainty, Nothing NO Paralyxing as
Doubt"
PARIS, Dec. After reading en- abstract
of the presidents message, laid before all
Europe this morning, saw Mr.. Blaine and
asked him il he would be willing to give his
views upon the recommendation OF the
president in the form OF letter or interview.
He preferred the interview, il would agree
to send him an intelligent shorthand re-
porter, with such questions as should give
free scope for an expression of his views.
The following lucid and powerful statement
is the result. Mr.. Blaine began by saying to
the reporter:
81 have been reading an abstract of the
presidents message and have been especially
interested in the comments of the London
papers. Those papers all assume to declare
the message is free trade manifesto and
evidently are anticipating an enlarged market
for English fabrics in the United States as q
consequence of the presidents recommended
tions. Perhaps that fact stamped the char
acter Of the message more clearly than any
words of mine can"
"You don't mean actual free trade without
dutyl" queried the reporter.
"No, "replied Mr.. Blaine. Nor do the
London papers mean that. They simply
mean that the president has recommended
what in the United States is known as a
revenue tariff, rejecting the protective fea-
ture as an object and not even permitting
protection to result freely as an incident to
revenue duties"
81 don't know that l quite comprehend
that last point" said the reporter
''I mean," said Mr.. Blaine, shat for tho
first time in the history Of the United States
the president recommends retaining the in
ternal tax in order that the tariff may be
forced down even below the fair revenue
standard. He recommends that the tax on
tobacco DO retained, and thus that many mil
lions annually shall be levied on u domestic
product which would far better come from
tariff on foreign fabrics"
THE TOBACCO TAX SHOULD BE REPEALED
AT ONCE.
"Then do you mean to imply that you
would favor the repeal of the tobacco taxM
Certainly; 1 mean just that" said Mr..
Blaine. II should urge that it be done at
once, even before the Christmas holidays. 1t
would in the first place bring great relief to
growers of tobacco all over the country, and
would, moreover, materially lessen the price
of the article to consumers. Tobacco to mil
lions of men is a necessity. The president
calls it luxury, but it is luxury in no
other sense than tea and coffee are luxu-
ries. 1t is we'll to remember that the lux
ury of yesterday becomes q necessity of to-
day. Watch, if you please, the rambler OF
men at work on the farm, in the coal mine,
along tho railroad. in the iron foundry or
in any calling, and You will find ninety
five in 100 chewing while they
work. After each meal tho same pro-
portion seek the solace of q pipe or
q cigar. These men not only pay tho
millions of tho tobacco tax, but pay on every
plug and every cigar an enhanced price
which the tax enables the manufacturer and
retailer to impose. The only excuse for such
a tax is the actual necessity under which the
government found itself during the war, and
the years Immediately following. To retain
tho tax now in order to destroy the protec-
ton which would incidentally flow from rails
ing the same amount of money on foreign
imports is certainly most extraordinary
policy for our government"
THE WHISKY TAX SHOULD BE RETAINED.
"Well, then, Mr.. Blaine, would you advise
tho repeal of the whisky tax alsor'
''No, would not. Other considerations
than those of financial administration are to
be taken into account with regard to whisky
There is moral side to it, To cheaper
the price OF whisky is to increase its con-
sumption enormously. There would
be no sense in urging the reform
wrought by high license in many states
if the national government neutralizes tho
good effect by making whisky within reach
of every one at twenty cents gallon.
Whisky would be everywhere distilled if the
surveillance of the government were with
drawn by the remission Of tho tax, and Illicit
sales could not then be prevented even by
policy as rigorous and searching as that with
which Russia pursues the Nihilists. It would
destroy high license at once in ell the states.
WHISKY SHOULD PAY FOR COAST DE-
FENsES.
''Whisky has done q vast deal of harm III
the United States. would try to mako it
do some good l would use the tax to fortify
our cities OH the seaboard. in view of the
powerful letter addressed to the Democratic
party on the subject of Notifications by the
late Mr.. Samuel J. Tildcn, in 1885,, om
amazed that no attention hes been paid to
tho subject by the Democratic administra-
ton. Never before in the history of tho
world has any government allowed great
cities on the seaboard, like New York, Phila-
delphia, Boston, Baltimore. New Orleans and
San Francisco to remain absolutely defense
less
IN TIME OF PEACE PREPARE FOR WAR.
"But,r said tho reporter, "you don't think
wo are to have war in any directions"
"Certainly not" said Mr.. Blaine. Neither,
presume did Mr.. Tilden when he wrote his
remarkable letter. But we should change
remote chance into an absolute impossibility
IL our veal; and exposed points were strongly
fortified. II today we had by any chance
oven such war as we had with Mexico our
enemy could procure ironcladsin Europe that
would menace our great cities with dcstruc-
ton or lay them under contribution"
"But would not our fortifyin.g now posi-
bly, look as IL We expected war;"
"Why should IL any more than tho fortiii-
cntions made seventy or eighty years ago by
our grandfather, when they guarded them